Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business
3 required essays, 1 optional for the 2026-27 cycle.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | September 30, 2026 |
| Round 2 | January 8, 2027 |
| Round 3 | March 3, 2027 |
| Round 4 | May 5, 2027 |
| Round 4 Final | June 15, 2027 |
Essays
Goals essay · maximum 500 words · required
Essay choice 1: At the Tepper School, we value leaders who can make confident decisions when facing complexity and uncertainty. Tell us about a time when you had to take action without having all of the answers. How did you navigate the situation and what was the outcome?
Goals essay · maximum 500 words · required
Essay choice 2: The Tepper School of Business is committed to helping students reach their full potential by supporting their professional and personal transformation. How do you hope to transform, both professionally and personally, during your time in the program? Please describe your development goals and steps you plan to achieve them.
Program supplement · up to 2 minutes video · required
Video essay: Please describe your post-MBA career goals.
Program supplement · no limit stated · optional
Optional essay: There also is an optional essay for additional information about your candidacy that you may wish to share with the admissions committee. Use this essay to convey important information that you may not have otherwise been able to convey (unexplained resume gaps, context for recommender selection, etc.). Re-applicants should use the optional essay to explain how your candidacy has strengthened since your last application.
One required 500-word essay: applicant picks ONE of the two choices (both listed as mba_goals). Required for all applicants except college seniors. Page shows 2026-2027 dates but no explicit cycle label. Reapplicants use the optional essay; there is no separate reapplicant prompt.
Checked against www.cmu.edu/tepper/programs/mba/admissions/apply-full-time-mba on September 9, 2026. Programs change their prompts between cycles; confirm on the program’s own page before you submit.
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Pick which of Tepper’s prompts it answers. The first look is free.
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Prompt
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Common questions
- How many essays does Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business require for 2026-27?
- 3 required and 1 optional, 4 in total. Every prompt is listed on this page word for word, with the length each one states.
- How long should the Tepper essays be?
- Maximum 500 words. That is the length the program states on its own page, which this record was read from on September 9, 2026.
- When is the Tepper 2026-27 deadline?
- Round 1: September 30, 2026. 4 other rounds are listed on this page.